Thursday, November 29, 2012

Tanya Myers, MANA's education liaison, alerted us that the DeKalb County School District is considering a proposal that would accelerate the construction of the new Fernbank Elementary grounds and shift attendance lines for many young Medlock residents:

Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson presented a draft of her plan to merge some schools and expand others as part of a new five-year school construction program. ... Another proposal also provoked a strong reaction: Atkinson recommended floating $80 million in bonds — borrowing money — to expedite construction of several schools. Read the whole article @ AJC.

Following up with a Fernbank contact and with Mr. McChesney, Tanya reports that "it looks like the new plan would have our neighborhood (most of or perhaps all) redistricted to Fernbank with the enlarged school re-opening to accept 200 additional students in fall of 2014. This proposal returns Laurel Ridge to its original (2011) attendance zone prior to the addition of Medlock students."

Tanya also clarified that "under the SPLOSTIV timelines that the board has already approved, the new, larger Fernbank Elementary will open January 2016. If the bond were approved, construction timelines would be accelerated and the new, larger school would open January 2015 (see page 53 on the above link for the comparison). It may be worth pointing out that the only difference is one of timelines; redistricting is planned to happen whether the bond is approved or not."

The image below superimposes the attendance line adjustment on a Google map of the area, using the location of the schools (in both depictions) as anchor points. This image is presented for informational purposes only.

Below, the same map, with MANA highlighted in yellow. Again, noting that these depictions are not final nor validated by DCSS, it appears that some MANA neighbors who reside in parts of Hunting Valley and Willivee Drive would remain in the Laurel Ridge Elementary attendance zone.

As we know more, additional information will be posted.

ADDENDUM: Battle of the Annexations? The extended Fernbank attendance line overlaps City of Decatur's annexation goals.

Image added to highlight overlap between newly proposed attendance lines for Fernbank [purple highlight] vs. City of Decatur's annexation plan [inset]. The overlapping areas appear in blue and green in the City of Decatur map (the magenta area already attends Fernbank Elementary).

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

101 Concepts is opening what will be their 5th Meehan's Public House in unincorporated Decatur in the former Maddy's on Scott Boulevard near North Decatur Road. ... read the whole thing @ tonetoatl.com

Falling trees: a topic near and dear to our well-forested neighborhood. Dave Butler talked about tree health at a recent MANA community meeting, and now, the Scientific American's blog expands on the issue, with a focus on what is known about why trees fall during storms, and what we can do to protect ourselves:

"Although they can become unwilling weapons in severe weather, I think most of us would not want to live without our trees. They give character to our properties, shade in the summer, beautiful leaf colors in the fall, and homes to our wildlife. Most trees were living long before we were and, hopefully, will be living long after we are gone. But inevitably nature will periodically rise up and destroy some."... Read about it in Why Do Trees Topple in a Storm? @ Scientific American.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

For unincorporated areas of DeKalb County, the future remains muddled. The formation of new cities within the County (Dunwoody, est. 2008, Brookhaven, effective Dec. 17, 2012), compounded by campaigns by existing cities to annex unincorporated space (e.g., City of Decatur's plan to annex residential and commercial parcels), conspire to worry unincorporated DeKalb residents about how the loss of commercial property might affect services and taxes.

Peggy Merriss is expected to make a recommendation on annexation at the Dec. 17 City Commission meeting. If the city approves a plan, it then goes to the General Assembly to authorize a voter referendum on the issue.

This site reported on these issues earlier this year (here, here and here). The AJC commented on the issue last October. MANA and CHCA representatives have been trying to gather additional information by attending Civic Association Network (CAN) meetings, and contacting our representatives (Commissioners Rader and Gannon; state representative Rahn Mayo). To review documents relating to these ongoing discussions, visit the CAN website at http://www.can-dk.org/file-cabinet/government-municipal. There, you will find several ideas being floated around, from the formation of a City of DeKalb (to include all currently unincorporated land) to a City of North DeKalb. You will also find links to DeKalb County city websites.

On the topic of new cities, the Druid Hills Patch reports on a November 12 meeting where northern DeKalb citizens discussed cityhood. The overwhelming tone of the meeting is summarized in the last sentence of the article:

"We don't need to know how to [become a city] until we know why to do it," another resident said. . . . . . Read the whole thing @ Patch

We will post updates as they become available. In the meantime,

To voice your concerns or support for City of Decatur annexation proposals:

Saturday, November 10, 2012

At the most recent MANA community meeting, representatives from DeKalb County's Office of Senior Affairs discussed a county grant scheduled to be awarded this fall, to help develop an age-in-place community.

CHCA and MANA members have formed a committee to explore this issue and have attended several presentations relating to this concept. As this committee gains a better understanding of this opportunity, look to this space and the CHCA website for calls for focus groups, surveys, and other ways to provide input or volunteer.